The Towering Inferno (1974)

At the opening party of a colossal, but poorly constructed, office building, a massive fire breaks out that threatens to destroy the tower and everyone in it.

Director:

John Guillermin

Writers:

Richard Martin Stern (novel), Thomas N. Scortia (novel)

Stars:

Paul Newman, Steve McQueen, William Holden

Won 3 Oscars. Another 9 wins & 13 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Steve McQueen	...	Chief O'Hallorhan
Paul Newman	...	Doug Roberts
William Holden	...	Jim Duncan
Faye Dunaway	...	Susan
Fred Astaire	...	Harlee Claiborne
Susan Blakely	...	Patty
Richard Chamberlain	...	Simmons
Jennifer Jones	...	Lisolette
O.J. Simpson	...	Jernigan
Robert Vaughn	...	Senator Parker
Robert Wagner	...	Dan Bigelow
Susan Flannery	...	Lorrie
Sheila Allen	...	Paula Ramsay (as Sheila Mathews)
Norman Burton	...	Giddings (as Normann Burton)
Jack Collins	...	Mayor Ramsay

Storyline

Doug Roberts, Architect, returns from a long vacation to find work nearly completed on his skyscraper. He goes to the party that night concerned he's found that his wiring specifications have not been followed and that the building continues to develop short circuits. When the fire begins, Michael O'Halleran is the chief on duty as a series of daring rescues punctuate the terror of a building too tall to have a fire successfully fought from the ground.

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Plot Keywords:

disaster film | race against time | firefighter | smoke | breaking a window | 

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Taglines:

The tallest building in the world is on fire. You are there with 294 other guests... ...There's no way down. There's no way out.

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Genres:

Action | Drama | Thriller

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Certificate:

PG

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

1 January 1975 (Singapore)

Also Known As:

Flammendes Inferno

Filming Locations:

Los Angeles, California, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$14,000,000 (estimated)

Gross USA:

$116,000,000

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$139,700,000

Company Credits

Production Co:

Twentieth Century Fox, Warner Bros., Irwin Allen Productions

Technical Specs

Runtime:

165 min

Sound Mix:

Mono (Westrex Recording System) 4-Track Stereo (Japan theatrical release)

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35:1 (35mm) 2.2:1(70mm)

Did You Know?

Trivia

In the film, Chief O'Halloran(Steve McQueen) makes a comment that he wishes firemen had protective equipment like that worn by football players to which one of the other firemen reply, "no one pays to see us". OJ Simpson who plays Jernigan was in the middle of his Hall of Fame career as a running back having played for both the Buffalo Bills and San Francisco 49ers.

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Goofs

Lifting the brakes on the scenic elevator would not involve cutting wires and shimming relays (unless there was still power, in which case the brakes wouldn't need to be lifted. Manually lifting the brakes would require large wrenches on the elevator machine itself, and could not be done in 30 seconds.

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Quotes

Senator Parker: At this rate it's going to take a couple of hours to get everyone down. So, I would suggest that those of us with stout hearts and trim waistlines start using the stairs.
James Duncan: That's 135 floors.
Senator Parker: All downhill.

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Crazy Credits

The 20th Century Fox and Warner Bros. Pictures logos don't appear in the beginning.

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Alternate Versions

The film was re-dubbed in 2003 for the German DVD release. All subsequent releases on DVD and Blu-ray feature this new dubbing, many TV airings as well.

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Connections

Referenced in You Will Believe: The Cinematic Saga of Superman (2006)

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Soundtracks

We May Never Love Like This Again
Maureen McGovern sings
Words and Music by Al Kasha and Joel Hirschhorn

User Reviews

Hot Potato.

"Grand Hotel"-styled disaster epic that, along with the original "Airport" and "The Poseidon Adventure", became a monstrous money-maker which dominated not only economically, but also critically. "The Towering Inferno" is an intense affair as a high-rise skyscraper in San Francisco seems to be a state-of-the-art marvel, but sometimes things are not as perfect as they seem. There are still flaws in the building and naturally a small spark in a utility room will lead to an overwhelming night of terror and heroism. A who's who cast in Hollywood at the time makes up the mind-blowing list of performers. Paul Newman, Robert Vaughn, William Holden, Faye Dunaway, Steve McQueen, Susan Blakely, Richard Chamberlain, Robert Wagner and Jennifer Jones all make lasting impressions. However it is Fred Astaire (in an Oscar-nominated role of a lifetime) and then-Buffalo Bill superstar O.J. Simpson (showing the style, grace and power that he showed on the playing field here in his debut screen performance) that stand out and create a higher dimension to an honestly corn-filled story. A terribly difficult production to pull off due to the very large scope involved. The technical effects compete well with the all-world performers to make a stunningly impressive movie. Near the top of the usually ho-hum genre of the period. 4 stars out of 5.